


Coffee and fries

by Talonpoppy



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Ana your local gardening fanatic, Fareeha is best employee, Grace best brother, I should really research hospital operations more, Lucio is trying, Mcdonalds au, Mercy needs a nap, My creative thinking went into my other AU titles, those moments you're trying to be funny but remember your calling as an angst writer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 14:49:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14936352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talonpoppy/pseuds/Talonpoppy
Summary: Thanks for dropping by for chapter 2. I hope the addition of Concept Mercy (Ie: Grace) doesn't step on any toes, I just felt he'd be able to add to the hospital scene seeing as not many of the overwatch cast could really be placed there ow o;.Anyway, hope you enjoyed. As always don't be afraid to leave a comment, question, concern and so on in the comments below! Have a nice day!





	1. Hello welcome to McDonalds!

“Life a fragile dance of in’s and outs, the simple quest of purpose only to face a blackened field of flowers in your final moments, are we truly alive? Or just a proposal of thought on inquiry, co-”

“Santos I swear to the gods, it’s way too early for your phylosphical bull shit.” Fareeha moves sluggishly from the idle fryer, checking on the pitiful white freeze dried potatoes cooking underneath the churning golden liquid. 

Not even halfway through the swing shift and she was already wishing for the sweet release of the morning crew, chiming up the bell in the back.

“Oh come on ‘Reeha,” Lúcio flicks a small patty into the air, “you got anything better to talk about?”

“Well your terrible choice of prerequisites for one.” The woman notes as she lifts the fries out from the molten yellow substance.

“I mean, what were you thinking, philosophical poetry?” Fareeha shakes her head as she shuffles the revived fries into a small brightly colored box. 

“That it’d be a good experience. . .” Lúcio bites his lip as he stacks the patty onto a variety of other requested items.

“And?” The woman goads as she goes to retrieve the finished burger.

“Well that and I almost missed out on class registry.” Lúcio gives Fareeha a pleading look, “skipped my mind, and I couldn’t stand another quarter with Dr.Winston.”

The woman chuckles good heartedly, “we all warned you that, that man has a way with words.” 

“Ya, he sure has a way with ‘em, it’s called nap time 101.” 

The brazilian shakes their head as Fareeha places all the accumulated items into a bag and walks to a small window, “here’s your order of one cheese burger, dry, lettuce tomatoes, no pickles with mustard packs on the side and one medium fry. Thank you for ordering at McDonalds, we hope you have a pleasant evening.” 

The woman chimes the stale practiced line in a slightly upbeat voice, the most upbeat you can get while flipping burgers and trying to pay rent, but hey a jobs a job.

“Honestly ‘Reeha, bring much more life with that act and I think you’ll get zombie of the year award.” 

Fareeha rolls her eyes as she glances towards the clock, 1 A.M., 5 hours to go. “Like you’d do much better, mister fragile dance.”

Lúcio attempts to look offended, but his naturally kind and perky demenur betray him. 

“So.” Fareeha starts after a few minutes of the man trying to sell her on his choice of college majors. “Any news on your neighborhood?” 

Lúcio shifts uneasily at the drastic change of mood, “nothing yet, power’s still not offered in a big chunk of the region.” The man slumps slightly as the doorbell chimes, Fareeha frowns at the inability to comfort her friend as she’s pulled towards her duty up front. 

“Welcome to McDonald’s, what’ll it be this morning?” 

The woman who had entered the joint looks at Fareeha with a somewhat dumbfounded expression. Before shaking her head and clearing her throat slightly, “Uh, one moment please.” She states calmly as her head flicks up towards the menu.

“Take all the time you need ma’am,” Fareeha responds staley as she gives the woman a look over.

She’s tall, and with the “You must be this tall to enter the play place” poster being to her right, Fareeha could pull a rough estimate of 5’8. Her hair is a pale blonde, which almost fades to white with her ghostly complexion. 

She looks beyond tired, with looming shadows just beneath her eyes and what one could assume to be a once orderly ponytail, now in shambles as loose strands curl defiantly into her face.

“Do you have any coffee?” 

The question jerks Fareeha to the fact that yes, this was a real woman, and no, not some poster child of “An A is only one dream away” that is plastered all around the local college. 

“Yes, primum roast, would you like small, medium or large?”

The woman stares at Fareeha for a few more moments, as if her words are in another language, before stuttering a sentence together, “oh, right, right, uh, one, one, large roast.”  
Fareeha waits patiently as she presses the few commands to register the order, “that’ll be $1.49”

“Right.” The woman pulls out a few bills and offers them to Fareeha, Fareeha places the order and returns her change. 

“Can I get a name for the order?”

“Angela, Angela Ziegler.”

 

Angela shuffles away to one of the many empty tables as Fareeha goes to make her order. 

“Angela, eh?” Lúcio was back to his upbeat self, already peering from the back to look at the woman situated at a table near the playplace; her head down, probably sleeping could be anyone’s bet. He has a mischievous grin on his face that spoke volumes of trouble. 

“Probably a nurse or doctor from the hospital up the way.” Fareeha notes offhandedly. Ignoring the smile and the implications behind it.

“What’s got you on that analysis Sherlock?” Lúcio questions as the machine Fareeha had turned on beings to produce a dark sharp scented liquid. 

“Hospital up the street, lab coat, and far as I know no labs here run past like 5” 

“Could be up late doing creepy things in the dark.” Lúcio teases as Fareeha caps the filled cup. 

“Only people I’ve seen that tired are undergrads and E.R. workers.” The Amari states with an eye roll as she walks over to the woman. 

Angela lifts her head to Fareeha’s footsteps, the same impossibly tired face greets the woman as she sets the steaming cup down. 

“One large premium roast.” Angela looks at the cup and back to Fareeha. Her face holding a hesitant expression as if unable to find any real words to assess the situation with.

“Uh, thank, thank you.” She finally fumbles out the words as she picks up the coffee and take a long swig. 

Fareeha notably cringes, at the woman’s neutral expression towards the steaming liquid. She’d had the coffee before, and one does not simply chug it down without a few memorable burns on the tongue and throat. 

Angela stares at the seat across from her as the taller woman leaves, listening shortly for the footsteps to fade and the start up of another conversation with the other employee in the back. 

She holds the distant expression for a few moments more, before the doctor leans back into her arms, pushing them close to her mouth as she stifles her sobs.


	2. A homely visit

“Dr.Ziegler?” A gentle calloused hand brushes the doctor’s back in a slow fashion as the woman turns away from the widow she was transfixed upon. Soft pre-dawn light casts its way through the clear frame as the doctor’s watch chimes 6 times to represent the hour.

“Grace.” Her tone is flat, broken, but slowly fixing itself, a practiced motion, a stitch in the patchwork that is a doctor. 

“I heard you ran off,” Grace starts as Angela looks down to her empty cup of coffee, the bright M on the side telling a story all in itself. 

“I’m allowed to take my hour lunch am I not?” She questions dryly as she rolls the empty container in her hands. 

Grace moves in the seat next to the doctor, her verbal snap barely phasing him, “normally lunch is taken when the sun is shining.”

Angela leans back her gaze passing lazily to her fellow co-worker, and childhood friend. His long white hair is pulled into a tight ponytail, which contrasts vaguely against his dark chocolate skin tone. His golden eyes stare back at Angela, the all too familiar concerned look greeting her.

“How long has it been since you last slept?”

Angela looks distantly away from Grace, her eyes staring off longingly, “Too long. . .”

Grace tilts Angela’s head towards him, “Angela. You need to take some time off. . .you’ve-”

Angela jerks her head away from Grace’s gentle hold, setting her jaw stubbornly, “I’m fine Dr.Nike” 

Grace sighs at the doctor’s adamant refusal to take the proper care of herself, but he knew her reasonings. She couldn’t find rest at her home, if she could even call it that. The terrors that haunted her at night only amplified when she was alone.

A small vibration followed by a soft message streamed into the small com in Dr.Nike’s ear; “Code blue, room 23.” 

The doctor closes his eyes as he gets to his feet. “Angela. . .think about what I told you a few days ago alright?”

Angela doesn’t respond as the man walks back to his duties. 

 

“Never thought that'd end.” Lucio stretches stiffly as Fareeha joins him just outside the employee's entrance; a well worn skateboard tucked precariously under her arm.  
“What? Run out of ways to describe the color blue?” She teases as she flips the board down, easing it forward with a lazy kick.

“What about that girl last night? Pretty cute huh?” 

Fareeha snorts at the man's desperate attempt to change the subject. “E.R. worker or Brigitte and her horde of preschoolers?”

“Tall, blonde and half dead. Ordered coffee, had you staring like a zombie for her order.” Lucio glides next to Fareeha keeping an even pace with her board against his beat up skates. 

“Everyone's tall to you Santos.” Fareeha grins as Lucio grumbles his objection as he punches her arm.

“Not my fault this town is home to the local amazon populous.” He jokes warmly as the two ease their pace to a street light.

“Never answered my question ‘reeha”

The woman shrugs at her friend's persistence. “I was just trying to figure out if she was wearing makeup or actually had the natural complexion of a college finals student.”

“And did you?” lucio asks as the crosswalk’s light switches on.

“I was too tired to tell.” Fareeha winks as she sets off in the opposite direction of her friend.

 

Fareeha’s journey home was relatively uneventful, to much of her enjoyment. She was able to catch the bus and take the local route 22 that saved her about 12 miles. 

She peacefully glides through the predawn streets, of Olympic city. A Spring breeze hinting at Summer being just around the bend, brushes lazily by as she followed the ever familiar path to home. 

Well not exactly her home per say, more the home she'd grown up in. 

A small house that blended in with much of the others along the street. With one story a warm coat of worn blue paint, and a small sign stating, “home is at the beach”, it was a place that had a certain charm, that only grew from the resident inside. Fareeha actually had an apartment in the town over, while not as homely as her mother's, it was within walking distance of the local college campus.

Dismounting her board, she plucks it up and heads for the side gate of the house that led to the backyard.

The gate groans as Fareeha pushes it aside, crying that it needed some oil and probably a few new screws, another time she notes as she wanders to the large garden her mother maintained.

It was a testament to her mother's time in active duty; she'd collected seeds of spices and herbs from all around the world promising her soon to be husband that she'd plant each and every one of them once they settled down.

Fareeha took a deep breath tiredly enjoying the warm warring scents of the garden, as well as the gentle chill that it offered against the already warming pre-summer sky.

“Strawberries are about to come into season.” 

Fareeha looks to her right and spots her mother knee deep into the dirt, thumbing the noted plants with keen observing eyes. Sporting a deep blue t-shirt that has the saying, “Justice rains from above” in her native tongue, light tan capris, muddied combat boots and worn leather gloves, she practically blended in with the garden. 

“I'll need to tell Lena then, her’s stopped baring a few months ago.” 

Ana grins at her daughter as she rises and dusts herself off, “as we all do in time. Remind me to give Emily a few packs of seeds” 

“You know, mum, I could deliver them to Lena. I see her practically everyday.”

Ana chuckles corsly, “She'd forget them soon as she got them. Always fast on foot, but a fair bit forgetful. Besides it's rather enjoyable to share gardening tips with those who are willing to listen. Ana sniffs dramatically as Fareeha rolls her eyes. 

“How is Santos? Still balancing 2 jobs while sending funds back home, and attending school?” Ana questions as she pulls back the sliding door and enters a kitchen that held the same earthy aroma as the garden, albeit with more of a distinct presence of incense.

“They're still trying to get power back. From what I last read relief efforts seem to have slowed. He says his family appreciated the dried fruits you sent them.”

Fareeha states gently as she pulls a carton of eggs from the magnet covered fridge, “he tries to hide it, but I can tell he's worried.”

Ana shakes her head, thumbing through a rack of dried herbs, a sad smile on her lips, “We do what we can, just as he does what he can.” She carefully selects a small gathering of colorful spices and sets about preparing a well used kettle. “Keep an eye on him ḥabībti, those who focus so hard on one goal will loose themselves along the way. He’ll need someone to help him up and guide him back when he finally needs the hand.”

“I think you’d be the one to drag him back by the ears umi,” Fareeha states as the two settle down at an old oak table, enjoying the gentle morning sun that had already begun it’s track to the center of the sky. A simple breakfast of eggs and toast with one of Ana’s infamous tea blends cooling in sentimental mugs. 

The conversation is just a routine, the inquiries of future occupation and the uneasy silence that followed flowed in it’s normal course. Both knew what the other wanted, and it strained at both’s call to protect. A mother unwilling to see her daughter follow a life she’d sworn to fix, and a daughter who wanted to protect those she loved in the only way she’d ever known how.

“It’s getting late,” Fareeha touches her mother’s shoulder, her face still soft and unwavered; far too used to the motions for the other’s sharp tongue to bite into her today. “New term starts in a month, I’d expect a few old faces will be back in town.” She carefully collects the dishes, busying herself, drawing away from her mother’s constant rejection of a passion she truly inspired to pursue.

“Ah.” Ana finally states, her stoic expression finally breaking as she too joins in the quick process of cleaning up the small mess that the breakfast had made. “Well, maybe this term you’ll find something that catches your sights.” 

“We’ll see umi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for dropping by for chapter 2. I hope the addition of Concept Mercy (Ie: Grace) doesn't step on any toes, I just felt he'd be able to add to the hospital scene seeing as not many of the overwatch cast could really be placed there ow o;.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed. As always don't be afraid to leave a comment, question, concern and so on in the comments below! Have a nice day!

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya, and thanks for the read. This AU has kinda been my side project while working on my other AU, and it's been one that I've enjoyed sharing with my friends. So hopefully you enjoyed it as much as they have! 
> 
> I've actually made a role in town for every hero (and some side characters as well), so each will eventually make an appearnce in some way or another, we'll see! 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, don't be afraid to comment below with questions, comments or even concerns/critques!


End file.
